Fall in number of rough sleepers

The number of rough sleepers plummeted between July and September in most boroughs when compared to the same period last year.

Homelessness fell by more than a third in Kensington and Chelsea, and a quarter in Southwark.

In Hammersmith and Fulham they dropped by a fifth, although there were more than 10 per cent more rough sleepers in Lambeth, shown in a study released by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall and London Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark, said the results revealed some of the positive strides made on tackling homelessness.

But she warned: “As we move into a second lockdown and the winter beings to bite, we cannot afford to lose this positive momentum through complacency.”

Ms Eshalomi is urging the Government to fund the relaunch of the Everyone In programme – a scheme which provided 15,000 homeless people with emergency accommodation in hotels in March and April this year.

“With local authority budgets stretched, this will only be possible with comprehensive financial backing from Government,” she said.

She is also calling upon the government to renew the Section 21 evictions ban, a pledge to close down a regulation that allows landlords in the private rented to force out their tenants, without having to provide a reason.

A consultation on the proposal ended more than a year ago, in October 2019.

She said: “Ministers need to finally make good on the pledge they made over a year ago to end no fault evictions.”

Pictured top: Homelessness is falling across London